Before the Dawn
by JaneRoth
Summary: When Edward's accused of arson he takes what he gets. When the police chief's daughter moves to town he can't help but want her, even though said police chief has a bone to pick with him, not only for arson, but for putting his best friend in a coma.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters, unfortunately.

Before the Dawn

Prologue

It was unmistakable, the feeling the fire arose in me. All I wanted to do was hide, but I couldn't move. The fire was entrancing, in a sickly way that made me want to collapse and throw up.

I heard the muffled calls of Mike and Tyler somewhere in the distance, but I couldn't run. I was stricken by the sound of quiet sobs coming from somewhere within the burning house.

"Shit," I heard myself gasp and without thinking I rushed forward into the flames.

"Edward!"

I ignored Mike and pushed through the waves of heat that pressed in on me, thick smoke filled my lungs. I pulled my shirt over my nose.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Over here!" Someone called their voice thick with fear.

"I'm coming, keep talking."

"You're close, I can see you, son," said the voice.

Finally I saw him, an old man with dark eyes and russet skin caught beneath a large plank of wood. I ran to him, ignoring the flames that brushed the skin of my arms.

"I'm here, keep talking, please."

When cool liquid touched my hand I realized that I was crying, and that the air that filled my lungs was taken in by large gasps as I fought to control myself. My emotions were threatening to overtake me.

"My name is Billy Black, and you're a good boy."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor will I ever (though I may dream), own Twilight or any of its affiliated characters.

Chapter One – First Sight

I took a deep breath as I paced myself. I tried to swallow my fear, that impossible feeling that was threatening to shatter my resolve.

I looked out the window of my car towards Alice and Emmett's house. It was a tall plantation style house with white-paned windows. The door was red.

It opened.

Alice appeared and Emmett followed.

I felt my lips twitch at the comical difference in their height.

Alice reached my car first and she opened the passenger door and slipped in. She looked at me. "What are you smiling at?"

"It's been a while since I've seen you two come out together, I guess," I replied, turning to look at Emmett as he moved into the backseat behind Alice—he would never fit behind me.

"I'm doing this for you, buddy," he said, barely hiding his distaste at the small space he had to squeeze into. He looked off longingly to their garage. "Poor, Jacqueline, she's going to miss me."

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Rosalie would love to hear you say that."

He scoffed. "She sees me every day, practically."

"I never see her," I commented.

"Yeah, well, if you left the house once in the past two weeks you might've."

I grimaced. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Edward," Alice assured me, placing her hand against my forearm. "Let's go, or we'll never beat the rush."

"So, why didn't Jasper and Rosalie come with you?" Emmett asked as I manoeuvred my way out their driveway.

"Rosalie doesn't wake up until...now," I said, gesturing toward the time. "And since she made a comment Esme didn't really like they're keeping her car from her, so...Jasper has to drive her to school."

"Tenacious," Alice said, shaking her head.

"Sometimes tenacity is a good thing," Emmett returned, grinning wildly.

I laughed. "That's my sister you're talking about."

"Yeah, well, Cullen, you're sister is sexy."

"Whoa, Beethoven, I'll get Carlisle to fix you, and then let's see if you're so hot," Alice sniped.

It seemed like the ride to school only made the anxiety return. I sort of knew that none of what the other students thought mattered, but just the idea of facing them made my stomach do little flips.

I clenched my hands around the steering wheel, forcing myself to breathe.

When I neared the school turnoff I breathed a sigh of relief at the nearly empty parking lot.

"Nervous, huh?" Alice said, laughing softly.

I made a face. "Maybe I should turn back, you know, quite while I'm ahead." I pulled into the parking lot and into an empty spot nearest the exit.

Emmett snorted. "You're not ahead, you missed two weeks of classes—you're lucky the teachers love you. I wouldn't get away with what you did."

"Not that what you did was extremely bad, or anything," Alice interjected, her voice high-pitched and nervous.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I agreed with Emmett. I turned the ignition off. "You guys can go ahead, I'm just going to sit here for awhile and listen to some music."

"Fine with me," Emmett said and got out. I listened to the sound of his door shutting with a sense of relief. Alice was far less easy to get out.

She looked at me with her dark eyes, her face inscrutable.

"What?" I asked, annoyed with her mother-hen take on what she deemed an illness—I was fine.

"Just making sure you're the same old Edward, that's all...of course, I have confidence you'll make it through the day—I can see it." She broke into a smile and I found that I couldn't help but return it. "I'll see you at lunch," she said in departure, opening her door and shutting it.

I watched her go for a bit before leaning forward and resting my head against the cool leather of the steering wheel. I stretched out my fingers, free from their stress-related clenching.

I felt relaxed and perfectly sane, but I couldn't be sure.

The memories of that night nearly two weeks ago was fresh in my mind. I could remember the sound of Mike and Tyler laughing as we all crowded around the fireworks Mike had bought on a trip to Vancouver. I could remember the cursing that followed when one of the matches dropped to the ground beside the Quileute community centre and the jumping flame that started and ended everything.

Suddenly, I couldn't stand it.

I pulled my key out of the ignition and jumped out of my car, ignoring the rain that had started to fall over the course of my reflections. I shut my door and locked the doors before making my way across the wet, mushy school grounds towards my first class—physical education.

I sat on the bench off to the side in the gym. I was in prime position for any other students to pass by me without noticing my presence, at least until they had to come out to the middle of the gym and actually look around at their surroundings.

"Cullen, hey, how are you?"

I looked up from my iPod, pulling out one earphone in the process.

It was Mike.

"Fine," I replied, turning back to scrolling through my music, looking with intent for something that would drown out his voice.

"Come on, Edward, I called the fire department at least."

As if that made up for everything that had happened.

I glared at him. "And just happened to leave out you're involvement?"

He made a face. "You could have said something."

I looked away. "You know I wouldn't have."

"Well, if I hadn't called that guy would probably be dead."

"Crippled is next to death in my book," I returned before sticking my other speaker into my ear.

Mike stared at me with murder in his eyes, before he shook his head. "Be that way," I heard him say before he turned his back on me. "Whatever, I just came to say hi and how you doing? You know, friend stuff—Alice told me you were in and I rushed over here. Fuck, Cullen, grow up."

I ignored him.

"Newton! Gym this afternoon, fifty push-ups, you know that language is inappropriate~"

I resisted the urge to smile as he passed me another murderous stare as he exited the gym.

It was with his departure that I finally noticed all of the stares directed at me, as if I'd done something truly terrible.

I sighed and stood up.

It seemed like this day was just going to get worse and worse, huh?

Alice was sitting with Emmett when I got to the cafeteria, and I readily took my seat with them. I faced away from the crowd.

"Aren't you going to get something to eat?" Alice chirped, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"I'm not hungry," I replied. "Besides, I don't feel like being stared at."

"I can go for you," she offered.

I shook my head. "Thanks, but I don't need people wondering why I'm getting someone else to get my food for me."

"Then get your ass up there and get food," Emmett snapped. "I don't want to hang around a guy that has manorexia."

I glared at him.

He smiled.

I laughed and shook my head. "Fine, whatever." I got up and walked over to the growing line-up.

"_Look!_" I heard some girl in front of me whisper, her eyes flicking to mine.

I counted to ten inwards and breathed out, turning my gaze away.

"_Who's that?_"Another voice whispered in reply.

It wasn't familiar.

I glanced towards the other girl in curiosity to find another pair of large, brown eyes watching me with matched interest.

I swallowed. She was beautiful.

"_That's Edward Cullen,_" the girl replied, making a face. "_He doesn't date_,_"_ she said quietly, flicking her head away. I recognized her to be Jessica...something, a junior who had asked me out the year before.

I resisted the urge to smile at her comment on my dating history.

I didn't date _openly_.

The other girl turned to glance at me again, before looking back at Jessica.

"Don't waste your time," she said, this time without lowering her voice.

The girl laughed. "I wasn't going to," she replied and once more looked back at me. She caught her lip between her teeth, her eyes widely watching me with pure innocence and a faint longing that made my stomach clench.

I could feel my heart pounding heavily in my chest.

When I reached the lunch lady I gestured to an apple and a sandwich, grabbing a bottle of water before paying. I quickly went to sit down.

"Did you hear her?" Rosalie asked sharply.

I frowned and looked at her.

"What?" I asked.

"J_essica_, she was giving some unflattering descriptions of us—she said I was "_the hot mess with the stick up her ass"_. I mean, I understand her calling Alice _"the weird pixie-girl"_ and Emmett _"the guy who looks like he's an ex-wrestler"_...but "hot mess"? Really? She's lucky I don't beat the crap out of her."

I laughed.

"To that girl?" I asked, gesturing discreetly in the direction Jessica and her friends usually sat.

She nodded stiffly, folding her arms across her chest.

"What's her name, anyways?"

She shrugged. "I heard her call her Bella, but I don't know anything else. Not much interested in her."

"Oh." I looked down at my sandwich and unwrapped it with a sigh. This was crap compared to Esme's high-end lunches.

I took a bite as I contemplated that the beautiful new girl's name was Bella and that she conveyed interest in me as we stood in the lunch line. I turned my head to glance around the cafeteria.

I spotted her sitting with Jessica and some other students, I recognised Angela Weber and Eric, and if my eyes didn't fail me that was Mike and Tyler sitting on the opposite side of her.

I sucked in a breath, trying to tamp down my annoyance with how close Mike was sitting next to her.

Her eyes suddenly lifted and caught mine, my heart jumped in surprise. I turned away immediately and felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

The silence at my table was sudden.

I looked up and felt my cheeks grow hotter.

All four of them stared at me.

"You like her?" Rosalie said with her eyes wide open.

"No," I snapped. "I don't even know her."

"That doesn't really mean you don't like her, though, right?" Emmett asked. "I mean, all this crap about first sight and all—I remember the first time I saw Rosalie and I liked her right away."

Alice wrinkled her nose. "That was eight years ago—you were ten."

Emmett glared at her. "And you say I'm the one with the gutter thoughts."

Rosalie and Jasper laughed.

I only let myself smile as I fought the urge to turn my head to look at Bella again. The urge was strong, and I was _barely_ stronger.

A/n: This goes at the end of the second chapter, because I got overly excited and forgot to write something after the prologue. I read some Twilight fanfiction and I was inspired to write this. Edward's point of view is extremely special to me, just because this story is about him mostly. This is my first Twilight story ever, so please be kind and please give me critique. I need it. If I have any grammatical errors, ignore them, sometimes people don't think grammatically. Anyways, thanks—by the way, I needed to write about something non-vampire-y just because I've been writing about werewolves for what feels like forever, if I ever publish that story; you'll see it on a book shelf...with my real name.

Also, this story might involve a tad bit more maturity later, but I'm still waiting to see how it pans out.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any affiliated characters.

Author Note: I won't be able to update again until after the twenty-first, Finals are horrible and thank God I got through the worst one—I think I might have died and I saw one guy who had really red ears he was so nervous about the exam. I might've been having a panic attack two hours before, but reading Browning kind of helped...Anyways, enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Two – Complicated

I took a seat in Biology, hoping beyond hope that Mike would sit somewhere else and leave me alone...in at least ten minutes.

Mr. Banner raised his eyes from his desk as I pushed around a slide that was on the desk in front of me.

He smiled. "Edward, it's nice to see you back. I hope you got your marks back for those assignments Rosalie took home for you."

I nodded. "Yes, sir," I replied. "What's on today's agenda?" I asked, gesturing towards the slides.

"We are looking at the stages of mitosis, something I'm sure you've already looked up on—I heard from Alice that you'd like to go into medical school after graduation."

"Hoping to, but I'm not decided yet."

He nodded, still smiling. "I'm glad you didn't let the trauma two weeks ago affect your studies too much."

"I do well under pressure, Mr. Banner," I replied, smiling back.

"That's good, that's good," he said before looking back down at his desk.

The class started to fill up and I watched as my former laboratory partner walked in with Bella.

She was smiling as she entered and I felt my stomach do those little flips again and my heart jump into my throat. I gasped.

She was...I didn't know what to call her anymore—she looked like an angel.

"Ah, good to see you Miss Swan," I heard Mr. Banner say and I felt myself grow cold and I blinked.

I felt my throat work and my breathing become harsher and uneven. I dropped my gaze to the table.

"You're partner is here today, and just in time for our group project."

"Okay, thank you," she said, her voice sweet.

The chair beside me moved, the feet scratching the tile.

I could feel her gaze on me, but I couldn't say anything.

"You're Edward Cullen, right?" She said and her voice was light, friendly.

I looked up. "Yes," I replied shortly, resisting the urge to wince at my expressed hostility.

She bit her lip and her brow furrowed.

_Bella Swan_, I thought urgently, tepidly. I clenched my jaw to keep myself from groaning. This just got better and better, didn't it?

I still remembered Chief Swan's words as he pulled me from Billy Black's badly burned body. They would haunt me forever.

_"What sort of boy sets fire to a wellness center? A monster, that's what!"_

I swallowed thickly and hung my head.

"I'm Bella Swan," she muttered, her annoyance evident. "Nice to meet you."

I couldn't fight the smile that worked itself onto my lips.

I could see her look of surprise.

I felt my cheeks flush. "Um, sorry, it's just...well, I'm sort of having a bad day," I tried to explain myself, even though it would be much better if I didn't. It would be easier to stay away from her if she was the one pushing be back.

She smiled. "I thought you hated me."

I grimaced. "No, I barely know you," I replied. "What brings you to Forks?"

"Uh, my mother just remarried—"

"The guy bad?" I asked, feeling myself bristling at the concept.

She shook her head, her face indulgent. "No, no, Phil is cool...he's great."

I frowned. "Then what?"

She looked at me, sheepish. "Well, Phil travels a lot, and I could see that staying home with me was making my mom unhappy—so I decided to come to Forks and... be delivered from constant sunshine." She gestured to the ever darkening sky outside. "I sort of miss it."

"Home?" I assumed, her voice being too yearning to be just talking about the weather.

"That too, but being with my mom. It's so different living with Charlie—my Dad."

"Chief Swan," I said to clarify I knew who she meant.

"Yeah," she said and her face coloured. "What a deal-breaker, huh?"

I laughed. "Is that what you're worried about?"

She laughed. "Well—"

"I think you're worth it," I interrupted her.

She smiled at me.

The bell rang and class started.

I was forced to look away to the front of the class as Mr. Banner began to explain our project.

I felt an unbearable current between us, somewhat tangible. I focused on calming my breathing.

"You want to look first?"

I turned my head to her in surprise. "Huh?"

She laughed. "The slides, we're supposed to identify what stage of meiosis it's in."

"Oh, sorry," I said, making a face at my daydreaming. "Mind if I look?"

"Go ahead," she said, pushing the microscope towards me.

I took a quick peek. "Anaphase," I said briskly, taking my pencil to write it down in the first space.

"Do you mind if I check?" She asked.

I glanced up to see her face impish and her eyes wide with mischief.

"Sure," I replied with a smirk, pushing the microscope towards her.

She took only a few seconds longer than me before she looked up and nodded. "Anaphase."

"Didn't I tell you?" I teased, as I wrote down the word.

She watched me curiously.

"What?" I asked, slightly defensive.

"You have nice handwriting," she said simply before changing the slides. She looked herself. "Prophase."

"Mind if I check?" I asked, reaching forward to pull the microscope towards me.

Her fingers touched mine at that exact moment and our eyes caught.

I swallowed thickly and looked away after what had felt like decades of looking at each other.

She dropped her hand and I pulled the microscope closer. I checked quickly and only nodded, not trusting myself enough to speak.

I checked the last slide. "Metaphase," I said quietly.

"I believe you," she replied, her voice just as quiet.

I glanced at her, just to make sure I hadn't offended her.

Her expression was faraway, and she was watching me.

I swear, I would've kissed her then.

"Finished?"

Mike's voice filled my ears as red coloured my vision. He stood beside Bella, his hand on her shoulder as he looked over our worksheet.

"No peeking," she said and her voice was chiding as she reached towards me to cover the page, her arm pressing against mine. She turned to gaze at me.

I smiled and lifted my eyes to Mike's miffed expression. "Yeah, Mike, no peeking at _mine_ and Bella's work." The way her name sounded on my lips, pure sweet heaven.

"Peeking? What's this I hear? Newton!" Mr. Banner barked from his desk, standing up and pointing at Mike. "Desk!"

Mike gave me a dirty look before stalking away back to the dirty blonde he'd picked up between the weeks I'd been gone. The girl was watching us too, her expression just as dark and dirty as Mike's.

"Don't look now, but I think you've gained an enemy," I stage whispered, brushing my hand against her hair that covered her ear. "But don't worry, I'll protect you."

She giggled and this time the smile I felt stretch my lips covered my face.

"So, how is it living with Chief Swan?" I asked as I walked Bella to her next class—gym.

She grimaced. "Fine, I miss having my own bathroom, for one thing—but, small towns are nice."

I laughed. "Yeah, for a year or two, any longer and you start noticing the limited stock."

She furrowed her brow before laughing. "What do you mean?"

I sighed. "Girls of quality are hard to come by, get it?" I winked at her.

She shook her head in laughter. "Watch it, Chief Swan might come an arrest you for inappropriate use of language."

I snorted in spite of myself—he had bigger things to arrest me for.

I stopped at the gym doors, and rested along the side wall. For awhile I just looked at her, taking in her appearance. Her dark mahogany hair smelled faintly of strawberries—I had deciphered the scent on our way to her class.

"When will I see you again?" She asked her voice low, slightly anxious. I knew she didn't want me to leave her. I didn't want to either.

I felt my stomach tighten faintly in excitement.

"Whenever you want," I whispered in reply, my thoughts all mucky.

She smiled widely, showing off her teeth. "Good, I'm glad," she said.

"Mind if I stay and watch?" I teased—she'd tripped over her feet a couple of times on the way there.

Her face lit up with a faint blush. "No, you can't stay and watch," she said seriously. She turned away. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," she said, looking over her shoulder at me, her eyes betraying how much she wanted me to chase after her and grab her.

"It was nice meeting you," I said, touching her hand briefly as she walked away from me into the gym.

"The pleasure was all mine," she responded, laughing.

"So glad we're sharing here," I replied softly.

She stopped walking and stood there watching me. Her face flushed.

"What?" I asked, feeling my heart beat increase with excitement.

"Tonight, do you want to go for dinner? I'd understand if you don't want to go, you just met me, but—"

"Sure," I replied, grinning.

"Really?" She said, her brown eyes widening.

I laughed at her expression of complete and utter shock.

I stepped forward until the distance between us was as small as I could afford without touching her.

I sighed and brushed my fingers along the length of her arm. I watched her expression from beneath my eyelashes. She watched me, her lips slightly parted. I knew that I could kiss her.

I pulled away.

It was too soon, that I knew too.

I smiled, feeling sad. "I'll see you later, be at the diner by six." I would be counting down the seconds.

Author Note: I'm wondering when they should kiss...this chapter is very short, but you know, sometimes chapters are...right? Review, because I swear I need pointers and also because I'll feel a little better about this massive swing out of fantasy. Thanks!! =)


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